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private opinion. Ingrassia also argued that politically motivated prosecutions threaten democratic society. That concern is legitimate in the abstract, but it is difficult to apply convincingly to defendants who have faced allegations involving sexual abuse and human trafficking for years, well before their recent prominence in American political discourse.

Republicans and conservatives should resist the temptation to rally around every controversial figure simply because the Left dislikes them. Political coalitions built around grievance rather than principle eventually lose sight of what they are supposed to conserve.

The greatest threat to conservatism is not simply the rise of the DSA or the spread of third-worldist ideology. It is the willingness of some on the Right to abandon their own standards in the belief that defeating the Left requires embracing anyone who opposes it.

A movement that trades its principles for expediency may win attention in the short term, but it will struggle to win lasting political victories. Conservatism cannot preserve American ideals by discarding them in pursuit of the next cultural battle.

Ben Shapiro is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and cofounder of Daily Wire+. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author. To find out more about Ben Shapiro and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2026 CREATORS. COM